A Glass of Sherri and a Side of Sarcasm
by ilovemedia18
Summary: The sister of the forger. She had to give the life she loved up once, she wasn't going to loose it again. But that came with a price. She'd changed over the years but two things remained. The pointman still had her heart. And the team was still her family
1. Old memories die hard

As I sat and listened to the others explaining to Ariadne what we were doing I couldn't help but think of my sister. A bright young woman who would've been perfect for this job. She did it all from Extracting, to point man, to forger. But she was best at architecture. I remember all the elaborate labyrinths she would make and how it soon became a game for Arthur and me to try and find our way through them.

I remembered how there was time when everything was right with the world. Mal and Cobb were as happy as can be. I had my sister with me and my sister had Arthur. Now she always said she wasn't in love Arthur but I never really believed her, and I do believe that the Arthur fancied her as well. So when she disappeared it changed Arthur. He became a stick in the mud and was always serious. Mal was so upset to see her friend go. Mal and she were like sisters, and Cobb was like a brother to her. And to me… well I'll never forgive myself for not finding her.

She left everything behind. Her clothes, her books, everything. I remember waking in the morning and she was gone. I called Mal and Cobb but they hadn't heard from her. Arthur hadn't heard from her as well and he immediately became worried as well. We spent three weeks looking for her. I remember how much it hurt to find her gone. I still don't know what happened to her.

Did she leave? Was she taken? Or worse… was she dead? I didn't want to think about the last one but as the weeks turned in to months and the months turned into years I slowly began to loose hope and faith the my sister was still alive. My sweet sister. She couldn't harm a fly but did have a quick mouth and was rather witty.

I was snapped back into reality when I heard my name,

"Eames, you're going to study Browning. Learn how he acts, talks, and interacts with Fischer." I nodded my head and then began to zone out again into my own thoughts.

I wondered what I'd be doing now if she was still here. I wondered if she would go along with this job. But she wasn't here and I needed to focus on what I had to do. So when Cobb was done talking I stood and went into the other room and began to sift through pictures,

"Eames…" I looked up to see Ariadne standing there,

"Yes love?"

"Are you okay? You seem a little…distracted." I let out a sigh. Ariadne didn't know about my sister or the affect she had on our team,

"Yes I'm fine. I'm just…thinking is all."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about? Maybe I could help." I chuckled slightly,

"Oh I wish you could Ariadne. Oh how I wish you could. But nothing can change past deeds. Thanks though darling." She nodded her head and left the room. I let out a sigh and looked back to the papers and photos.

The next day I was sitting in the office just outside the room where Fischer and his father were. I studied their relationship and Browning for quite some time. I was just getting ready to leave when I heard shouting,

"Oi! Let go of me you-"

"Shut up!" The first voice was that of a woman. It was British and it sounded strangely familiar. Three people burst through the door. Two guards and a woman. I couldn't see the woman's face yet but her body looked a wreck. Her olive green tank top was in shreds and her grey cargo pants were also a mess. She had bruises and cuts on her arms and legs and there was blood seeping through her clothes. Robert Fischer and Browning both exited his father's room, shutting the doors behind them. The guards hit her in the back of the legs making her effectively fall on her knees. She hissed in pain. Then the other guard yanked her by the hair making her look at Browning and Fischer. My eyes widened slightly at what I saw. Dark brown hair with dark blue eyes and a look of defiance in them. There was a streak of blood running from just above her left eyebrow where a gash was showing and streamed down her face along with small cuts and bruises.

"Oh Sherri, what have you done." She spat at Browning's feet.

"I've done nothing wrong." Browning looked un-amused and Fischer looked like he was going to loose his lunch.

"Uncle Peter I said detain her not beat her." Browning put a hand on his shoulder,

"We are dealing with a dangerous woman here Robert. A thief and murderer. She needs to be broken." She growled at him and received a punch in the gut by one of the guards. It was all I could do to not rip them all to shreds right then and there.

"So this is how your head of security is treated? No wonder the last bloke quit." Again she was hit. I wanted to look away so badly but I couldn't tear my eyes away from her.

"Then explain to us why three of our guards are dead and how the others found you with their blood and the murder weapon."

"Like hell I did! Since when is it a crime to try and save a man's life! I know you hate me Browning but let me clarify something for our dear Mr. Fischer. Never have I ever killed an innocent man. Innocent men don't deserve to die. Michal, Jack, and Louis were my friends. Michal had a wife and kids, Jack was going back to school, and Louis was going to open a restaurant! You can ask all my men. I wouldn't kill them. And those men who found us, let me think, of yes they work for you Browning. You've never liked me from the start. The only reason that I'm still here is because Maurice Fischer trusts me. Robert… I've worked for your father for the last six years. You know me. Please… you know that when your poor father dies… you know what will happen to me." Fischer had a look that said he didn't know what to do.

Should he trust his uncle or the woman who's been working for him for the last six years? I was starting to sweat bullets. I was so afraid for her. I didn't want to loose her. Not when I just found her again. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair,

"Sherri… I trust you. And I believe you, but I'm going to have to let you go. Not because you're not good at your job, but when the press find out. Your life and mine will be ruined if you stay." Browning smiled viciously at her. Her head lowered and she let out a sigh of defeat,

"Take her away." As soon as they yanked her to her feet she acted. She kneed the one guard in the stomach and then kicked the other in the head. She yanked a switchblade from the back pocket of one of the guards and took off running down the hall. While the others were distracted I took off down the hall. I couldn't loose her. She ran fast and took two more guards out. She took a left and ran down the corridor. More guards but they were quickly disposed of. Since when did she become this killing machine? She used to hate knives and guns. She'd hardly ever use them. She ran out a side door and down an ally way. I ran after her but found her no where in sight. Next thing I knew I was on my back and I felt cold steel against my neck,

"Sherri it's me!" She didn't move, she just pressed her knee deeper into my back, "It's your brother Eames!" She stopped. She flipped me on my back and looked me dead in the eye. Her mouth hung open slightly and her eyes went wide.

"Eames?" She helped me up and then gave me a tight hug. She buried her face into my chest and I held her tight.

"Sherri…" I could hear her sobs and she only buried her face further into my chest.

"Eames… I want to go home." I stroked her hair and rubbed her back,

"Come on, I'll take you home." I put my arm around her and we walked down the street. Her head resting against my shoulder, "What happened to you Sherri?" She let out a sigh,

"I got a letter… it was from Mr. Fischer. He said that if I wanted to keep what we did a secret then I needed to come and work for him. I didn't want any of you to get hurt. I didn't… I didn't want to say goodbye. You know me Eames, it would've broken my heart." She was on the verge of crying again and I simply held her tight,

"I'm just glad you're alive. I…we all thought that you were dead." She smiled up at me a little,

"Come on now, it takes a lot more than that to kill me." I laughed,

"Yes it does." We kept walking but did very little talking. She was tired and in the end I ended up carrying her.

"Gosh darling you're so light." Her eyes were half shut and she was mumbling into my chest,

"That's what happens when you have to train thirty men for a security detail." I kissed her head and walked up the steps to our warehouse,

"We're here Sherri." She told me to put her down and I did. I opened the door and she strutted right in. She didn't want to appear weak.

"Oh good you're back Eames. Listen I need you to-" Cobb turned around to find not me but Sherri standing there. He dropped the papers in his hand. His mouth hung open slightly,

"Hey Cobb when do we- no way," Arthur walked in and he stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Sherri?"

"The one and only. Now are you lot going to come and hug me or not." Cobb and Arthur rushed over and wrapped her in a hug. Cobb picked her up and spun her around. Arthur just held on to her tightly and didn't so much as let go for at least a minute or two.

"What happened?"

"Where'd you go? And what happened to you? You look a wreck."

"Thanks Dom! I'll let my big brother Eames here explain, but I want to see Mal. So, where is she?" Cobb looked down at his feet and Arthur shut his eyes. She turned to me, "What'd I miss? Where's Mal?" I sighed and took her by the arm,

"Sherri… Mal's..."

"Mal's what?"

"Mal's dead."


	2. A Memory and a Dream

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sherri pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"W-what?" I turned to Cobb, "D-Dom?" He looked me in the eye and I saw the sadness the pain in them. I felt tears run down my cheeks. I bit my lip to stop myself form balling.

"I-I'll be in the other room." I went into the other room and shut the door. I sat on the floor and brought my knees up to my face and cried. It was about ten minutes before I heard the door creek and I saw Dom. He sat down beside me and pulled me into a hug. I cried into his chest,

"What happened?"

"We got lost. We lost what that boundary between reality and dream was. So I…" Dom was hesitant. "I gave her the idea that it wasn't real. That we were in a dream. So we killed ourselves, but when we came back… she was different. She began to question her reality. And in the end…she jumped off the side of the hotel we were in for our anniversary. She… she had told her lawyer that she was fearful for her life. That I was trying kill her. She thought that I would go with her. But…I couldn't, so I ran." Dom had a pained look in his eyes.

"Have you told anyone else about this?" He shook his head,

"No, I've wanted to but… I can't. I think Arthur knows but… I just couldn't tell him. It hurts too much."

"So why me?" He kissed my head,

"You needed to know. You were like a sister to her." I sighed and hugged him, "Come on. I'm sure Arthur will want to spend more time with you." He said it like a brother teasing his sister about a school crush,

"What's that supposed to mean?" I gave him a smile,

"Oh we all know. That is all of us but you two."

"Please Dom, we're friends alright. Arthur doesn't see me like that." He rolled his eyes and pulled me up,

"Oh whatever!" We left the room and Eames and Arthur stopped talking. I raised an eyebrow at them,

"Oi, what was you two talking about? Hmm?" They both said nothing and I didn't push it because the pounding in my head had grown louder, "Hey do you all have something I can take? My head is killing me. And you wouldn't happen to have, say, a shower, some bandages, and clothes would you?"

Eames went to get some soap and towels, Dom went to get me bandages, and Arthur was going to get me clothes. They all came back with everything and Dom and Eames decided to be cruel and nominated Arthur to take me upstairs to the shower. He took my hand and led me up the stairs. We were quiet until we got to the second floor.

"They're mine so they may be a little big." I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug,

"Thanks Arthur." I buried my face into his neck and I felt his arms wrap securely around my waist, "I'm sorry. For leaving. I just… I didn't want to get anybody hurt." He pulled away slightly and rested his head against mine,

"I'm just glad you're safe and that you're back." I pulled away a little more and took all the stuff from him.

"Thanks Arthur." I quickly kissed him on the cheek and went into the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arthur pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched Sherri go into the bathroom and my fingertips traced the spot where her lips had once been. My cheek burned. I sat on a chair just outside the bathroom and thought about what happened last night.

_It was late and virtually nobody was here but Cobb and Ariadne. I hooked my arm up and slowly drifted off into a sleep. I didn't normally do this but every now and then I just had to. I was lying on a hammock by the beach in the warm night air. Sherri was lying beside me with her head on my chest. She was my best friend and we were becoming more and more everyday. _

"_I miss you." She smiled at me and took my hand in hers,_

"_I'll be back. You know I will." I traced her cheek with my hand and ran my fingers over her bottom lip._

"_When? When will you be back?" She leaned up to me and pressed her lips to my cheek._

"_Now that would be telling love." Normally next we would end up staring at the stars and simply holding each other until morning, but her eyes looked else where. I turned my head to where she was looking and saw Ariadne. _

"_Are you crazy! You don't just walk into someone else's subconscious memories without letting them know." I was standing now and I was ticked. Nobody was supposed to see this. Nobody was supposed to know about this. I felt her arms wrap around my waist and her head on my shoulder,_

"_Oh don't get too upset darling. She was curious. If you remember I was just as curious." I sighed. She had a point,_

"_What's your name?"_

"_Ariadne."_

"_Nice name. I'm Sherri."_

"_You look a lot like Eames." She chuckled a little,_

"_That's because I'm his sister."_

"_Oh, well, that would explain it." I looked at my watch. I had only a few seconds left,_

"_Well we should be going back. Time's almost up."_

"_It was nice to meet you Ariadne, and you," She pulled me closer and kissed me on the cheek, "Don't go too hard on the girl alright?" I smiled at her,_

"_Alright." And then we woke up. I took a deep breath. I wanted to yell at her for doing that but I refrained. Sherri was right, she was just curious. _

"_What was that?"_

"_A memory and a dream. We spent a week at the beach just a week before she disappeared."_

"_I thought-"_

"_I know what you thought. But when you loose someone you can't forget about them. You feel the need to see them again. It's something you can't help. Look don't lecture me about turning into Cobb or something about Sherri showing up in our mission because first off I'm not Cobb. She didn't die. And I only do this every once in a while. I don't do it daily. Second, do not tell Cobb or Eames about this at all. Eames still hurts about his sister's disappearance and if you bring Sherri up that will make Cobb's pain even worse."_

"_I'm sorry. I didn't-"_

"_Look, I get it, Sherri was right. You were just curious. But Curiosity killed the cat you know."_

"_I promise I won't say anything."_

"_Good." _

I sat there and I must have spaced off because the next thing I know I'm being pulled up off the chair,

"I need you to help me wrap my arms." I smiled as she pulled me into the bathroom and hopped up onto the counter. I took the bandages and began to wrap her arms. They were badly bruised and cut,

"Does it hurt?"

"A little." She was quiet. She didn't seem as carefree and happy as she used to be. When I was done she didn't move. She seemed to be out of it. I lifted her chin to meet my eyes. I saw pain and regret in them. I ran my finger over her cheek and lifted her off the counter. As soon as her head hit my chest she was out. I carried her down the stairs and into one of the spare rooms and laid her on a chair. I noticed that on my way down Eames and Cobb were smirking at me. When I came back out they stopped talking and grinned at me,

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah don't worry about it Arthur. It's nothing at all."

"Eames when it's you nothing always means something." He grinned and I rolled my eyes before turning my head to look at Sherri again. I let out a sigh.

Sherri was back.


	3. Time moves fast

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sherri pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was lying on something soft. A bed probably. I could feel the warm sunlight creeping through the blinds and I rolled over so it wasn't in my eyes. I heard a small creaking sound and opened one eye to see Arthur standing there,

"Sorry if I woke you." I sat up and stretched,

"You didn't wake me." I yawned and Arthur smiled and sat down on the bed beside me. I lied back down and pulled him down with me. He chuckled slightly and I rested my head on his chest like I used to.

"I moved you from the warehouse to a local hotel we were staying at."

"Wow, I must have really been tired." He chuckled,

"I came to ask you if you wanted to help us."

"With what?"

"Our job."

"Do I get to be the architect?"

"You'll have a partner."

"Mmm, okay. Who's our mark?" I felt Arthur tense and I sat up a little and looked him in the eye, "Who's our mark." He shut his eyes and let out a sigh,

"Robert Fischer." My heart stopped. Something inside of me began to tick, like a bomb waiting to explode. Anger. That's what it was. I was angry with Robert for letting all that happen. Angry that my life was ruined because his father had pulled me into it. Angry that I took the fall for the deaths of three men, men who were my friends. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Sher, you don't have to do this. I mean I understand if-"

"No. I want to do this. I need to." Arthur pushed a strand of my hair out of my face. His thumb traced over my bottom lip and I realized just how close we were. But these moments never last and a knock came to the door. I tried to get up but only succeeded in groaning do to the pain I felt all over my body. Arthur laughed and got up,

"Shut up Arthur." I couldn't help but smile though. He opened the door and Eames came strutting through. I rolled my eyes and fell back onto my pillow.

"Nooooo, go **away **Eames." He chuckled and sat down,

"What? No good morning Eames?"

"Good morning Eames, now go away." He chuckled and ruffled my hair,

"Sorry Sher but Dom sent me to come get you seeing how Arthur was taking so long." I attempted to push Eames off but the man was bigger than me and simply picked me up off the bed.

"Eames! Put me down!"

"Sorry love but we must get going. Our employer is very persnickety."

"At least let me walk on my own and get some shoes!" He put me down and I put my shoes on and pulled my hair back into a pony tail. "Alright, **now **we can go."

It was a short walk to the warehouse and when we went inside I found four people waiting for us.

"About time sleepy head."

"Oh shut up Cobb." He chuckled but went right into business mode. I surveyed the other three people in the room. A girl with long brown wavy hair. Thin but not a stick and she seemed to be a little dazed. I assumed she was new. The other man had an Indian look to him with darker skin and hair and had glasses. Maybe he was the architect I'd be working with. And then an older Chinese man with a suit that looked to be worth a very pretty penny. He must have been the employer.

"Sherri this is Saito our employer. Yusuf our chemist. And Ariadne our architect who I assume you'll be working with. Now we need to find time where we will have at least ten hours to do this…" I nodded my head. Dom continued to talk but I was still sleepy and decided I could always ask Arthur if I missed anything important. Once he was finished I strolled over to Ariadne.

"Ello, I'm Sherri." I held out my hand and she took it.

"Ariadne. Pleasure to meet you." She had a look in her eye. Like a shocked look mixed with recognition.

"Have we met before?"

"No." She was quick to respond. "No, I don't think we have." I didn't press it but I knew something was up.

"Alright, well, lets get started shall we?" We jumped into work mode. My body still hurt and it was pleading with me to stop, but I had a job to do. I stopped periodically to take pain medicine or change one of my bandages. We agreed that the first level would be Yusuf's dream. The second Arthur's dream. And the third would be my big brother Eames. We began construction right away. We made models and diagrams and study the layer of each dream. "I'll go get the boys to show them." She nodded and I left.

I found Arthur and my brother first, "Oi, can I borrow you lot?" They looked at each other then back to me,

"Sure." They followed me and I found Yusuf on the way back,

"You. Follow me." I didn't feel like being nice today. My body hurt and when you hurt who's going to be in a good mood? He gave me look but did as he was told. He followed us and I led them into the room Ariadne and I had been working in.

First we showed Yusuf his maze. He studied it and we explained it to him. He could add anything he liked so long as we knew. In the end he said he was going to go with a city theme.

Second was Arthur. We showed him his maze and he smiled seeing how it was a vertical maze. He knew that I had probably come up with that idea. Before I left I had created a bunch of vertical mazes with paradox steps in them. I got the idea from a painting. He decided to go for a hotel theme.

"And last but definitely not least is you Eames."

"Naturally darling." I rolled my eyes at him. I showed him his maze and he smiled at me. "I think a snowy little hospital in the mountains would be nice." I punched Eames in the shoulder,

"Eames!" He laughed,

"What?"

"You're only doing this because you know I hate the mountains." He grinned,

"Maybe." Arthur chuckled and I pointed a finger at him,

"Watch it." He put his hands up in surrender and a smile settled on his lips. As the day went on I grew to learn more and more about the people around me. I learned how Saito found Arthur and Cobb. How Eames had been residing in Mombasa for the last few years. Ariadne was apparently a college student in Paris that Cobb's father-in-law suggested. Yusuf was just a chemist that my brother knew.

Dom had changed a lot while I was gone. He lost everything. He wasn't as carefree and happy either. I knew that I had changed. There was no doubt in mind that I had changed. I had become more careful around people. A little harder. I was tougher by far. I used to hate guns and knives and now I'm an expert at handling them. In a world were blackmail is overlooked and crime is at a high you have to become tough. Either toughen up or die.

Then there was my brother. Eames. He seemed a little more… well, he seemed older. Not the whole you look old and I haven't seen you in a few years type thing. His eyes told the story of man who went through hard times and he had aged from it. He was still sarcastic and witty as ever but his eyes looked older.

Then there was Arthur. I let out a sigh. My best friend. I thought about what Dom had said. Did Arthur like me like that? I mean we were defiantly more than friends. I would lay my head on his chest, he'd wrap his arms around me, and heck we even shared a bed half the time. Most friends don't do that. But we weren't a couple either. Sure we kissed each other on the cheek and told each other everything but we had never actually kissed before. I mean there were times where we were really close to kissing but never once had we actually kissed.

I was snapped from my thoughts however when I felt those familiar arms snake around my waist and a warm breath on my neck, "What are you thinking about?"

"What makes you think I'm thinking about something?" He chuckled.

"Because everybody's gone and you've been standing here for the last five minutes not saying anything." I looked around the room and turned around in his arms. I grinned at him,

"So you caught me." He was really close now and our foreheads were almost touching,

"So what were you thinking about? Care to share?" I smiled at him and got even closer to him so our lips were but a few centimeters apart,

"Nope." I grinned at him and pulled back when I heard the others coming back. Eames popped his head in,

"Fischer Sr. is dead." Arthur and I followed my brother out into the main room,

"We leave in an hour. Get ready." I looked to Arthur and got closer to him,

"Care to explain where we're going?" He smiled at me,

"You didn't pay attention did you?"

"I was tired alright. So start talking." He chuckled and pulled me to him and kissed my head.

"Alright come on. I'll explain on the way." We were moving about through the warehouse gathering everything that we needed while Arthur explained to me that we were flying to Los Angeles.

"Saito bought the whole airline. Said it would be neater." He continued to explain to me that Robert and hid father didn't have that good of a relationship.

"Are you kidding me? After spending six years with them I can honestly say that their "relationship" doesn't even exist." He told me about how Eames was going to impersonate Browning to try and get Fischer to plant the idea in his own head so it couldn't be traced back to us. Yusuf was going to stay on level one and Arthur was going to stay on level two. I stopped him,

"Wait. You mean you're not coming with us?" We were alone in the hallway and he wrapped his arms around my waist,

"I have to stay so I can create the kickback." I bit my lip. He was really close now and his lips were just by ear, "You worry too much."

"And you too little." His lips were just grazing mine when we heard Dom and Eames shouting for us. He let out a huff and I laughed a little, "come on." I took his hand and ran down the hall, "I'm coming big guy. Call the cavalry back." Eames just shook his head and laughed. We loaded up and headed off to the airport.


	4. Just before the plunge

The ride to the plane was silent except for Arthur and Dom talking in the front. I was in the back with my brother Eames. I was looking out the window when I felt a presence looming over me with a low voice,

"Have you told him yet?" I whipped around to look at my brother. I looked to see Arthur and Dom deep in conversation.

"Told who what?" I gave him a sly smile and he simply rolled his eyes,

"If you don't tell him by the end of this trip I will." My eyes widened a little,

"You wouldn't." He raised and eye brow with a smug grin,

"Wouldn't I?" I glared at him,

"You would." He smiled triumphantly. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head against the window. Slowly my eyes began to close and I drifted into a sleep. Dreams never really came anymore. They were but a distant memory. After you do this job for a certain amount of time you tend to loose your own sense of dreaming without being hooked up. So I slept with no dreams.

I felt cool air hit my face and someone shake me slightly,

"Sher. Sherri." It was a male's voice. Not British but American. Dom or Arthur. Had to be. "Sherri if you don't get up I'm going to drag you out." Dom. I opened my eyes to see those blue eyes staring back. I groaned and unhooked my seatbelt. "Finally!"

"Shut up Dom." He laughed and I followed him through the airport.

"About time love! I thought you were going to sleep the whole day away! Not even prince charming here could wake you up." Arthur's face faltered a little but he quickly regained his calm cool composer. I glared at Eames who simply laughed.

"There is one thing I've been meaning to ask you." Dom's eyes showed a bit of worry in them, "What's going to happen when Fischer sees you?" I let out a sigh,

"Dom, Fischer isn't my problem. Browning is. If anything Fischer will be uncomfortable or even sorry."

"Would he report you to the police?" I shook my head,

"No. He knows I'm the best in the business. He wouldn't try it." He shook his head and we began to board the plane. I went on first and found my seat closer to the front of the cabin. Arthur sat behind me and Eames was at the back of the cabin. Fischer walked in and my brother blocked him. When he realized he was blocking the way he moved and picked his pocket. He kept moving forward. Crap. He was going to end up sitting by me. I stared out the window hoping he wouldn't notice me.

"Sherri?" Crap. I turned my head and gave him a weak but still surprising smile,

"Oh, hey Mr. Fischer." He looked to the ground then back to me,

"You can call me Robert. What are you doing here?"

"I'm going back to America. Meeting my boyfriend and looking for a new job." He nodded his head.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened-"

"Robert. What's done is done. I'm moving on." He touched my arm and I hissed a little in pain,

"I am sorry about that." I nodded my head and Dom took over,

"Excuse me…" I focused my attention out the window until the flight attendant came around with the sedative drinks. I smiled at her and took a nice big gulp of it and soon enough I drifted off.


	5. Problems insue and so does love

I was on the side of the street in the rain. Joy. What more I was with Fischer! Even better! I had to think quickly.

"Mr. Fischer, Mr. Browning says that the car that was supposed to pick us up won't be coming. Apparently it broke down. We'll have to call a cab." He gave me a weird look,

"What are you doing Sherri?"

"I'm your head of security sir. I'm doing my job." I add a laugh and a reassuring look. I had to sell this to him. Make him trust me. "I wouldn't send one of my men to go with you to New York when I'm supposed to be your head of security."

"Uh, right. Yes, well… carry on then." I smiled, being around Eames has paid off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arthur pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat in the car with Cobb, Yusuf, Ariadne, and Saito.

"Where's Sherri?"

"I don't know. We'll run into her and Eames later right now you and Saito need to high jack a taxi. In this rain he'll defiantly be looking for a taxi." Cobb rammed the taxi in front of us and the driver got out and so did Saito and I. Cobb pulled a gun out, "Walk away." He did and we got in. We drove down the street and found Fischer standing on the side. With Sherri? She hailed us down and we pulled over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sherri pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched as the cab pulled over and I saw Eames come running towards us. I opened the door and Fischer climbed in and then I did. Eames got in the other side,

"What are you doing?"

"I thought It was free."

"Look get-" Eames pulled a gun out and so did Saito. "Oh God." He rubbed his face. Eames pointed at me,

"You, gun. Hand it over."

"What makes you think I have a gun?"

"You're his head of security are you not?"

"Give it to him Sherri." I did as Fischer said and handed it over. Then gun shots rang out. Eames made Fischer duck and handed me my gun back. We were firing out the back window now. Projections were coming after us with guns now! The back window was gone and Arthur was driving around like a maniac trying to avoid the cars that were trying to run us over. We got trapped and I fired out the front window killing one of the guys. Arthur backed up into one of the guys and Eames shot him. We drove off to the warehouse as quickly as possible. When we got there. Eames grabbed Fischer and shoved him to Cobb then he came around to me and yanked me out of the car.

"Put him in the back."

"What are you going to do to her?" I was surprised Fischer actually cared, but then I remembered that he thought I was still his head of security. Cobb didn't know what to say so Eames did instead,

"Nothing of your concern."

"I'll be fine Mr. Fischer. Just do as they say." Once they were gone Eames let go of me, "Dang it Eames could you have yanked on me any harder!"

"Sorry love needed it to be more convincing." Cobb came back just as Arthur and Eames were pulling Saito out of the car.

"What was that? How did you not see this coming? That Fischer had training to prevent extractors from breaking into his mind, and having a militarized subconscious that will find the invaders and destroy them? This was your responsibility! We are not prepared for this!" I pushed Cobb back a little trying to get him to calm down. How was Arthur supposed to know?

"Let's put him out of his misery." My brother brought his gun up and aimed it at Saito's head. Cobb made him put the gun down and backed him up,

"You can't kill him!"

"Sure we can. We shoot him he wakes up."

"We're too heavily sedated." My attention shot to Yusuf.

"What…"

"If we die here we go into limbo."

"Limbo. What's limbo?" I looked to Ariadne who had fear etched across her face,

"Your brain basically becomes mush and you'll be stuck in a dream state with anyone else who's been in limbo before." I still knew my stuff,

"Which in this case is Cobb. I can't believe you. We're you in on this? How much did he promise you? Half his share.?" Arthur was ticked but Yusuf was calm and collected,

"All of it." I squeezed my eyes shut. Eames was angry too,

"That's great. Just great. Now we're stuck in Fischer's mind and we'll be dropped in limbo if we fail. If we fail we'll be killed no doubt."

I didn't realize how close Arthur was until I turned around. He opened his mouth to say something but never got to say it because Cob threw him a black mask. "Come on." Arthur let out a sigh and followed Cobb. A few minutes later Cobb came back out and looked to Eames,

"You have one hour."

"What happened to you have twenty four hours?"

"Well that was before we had people shooting at us. You have one hour." He began to shout with Browning's voice. Cobb dragged him in and in less than a minute Arthur and Cobb came back. I went up into the upper room to think and didn't realize I wasn't alone until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and warm breath on my neck,

"Sherri… are you going home to a boyfriend." I turned around in his arms and looked into his eyes. I knew he was kidding but I wanted to play along,

"Depends…am I." He was close. Really close. His lips just grazed mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were so close.

"If we're going to die in this dream…then I want to tell you that…I love you."

"Oh screw it." I pressed my lips to his and he smiled in the kiss before deepening it. His arms tightened around my hips as I found my back against the wall. I pulled away slightly but his lips begged for me not to, "I love you Arthur." His lips danced over mine and I almost lost it when he tugged on my lower lip. Our tongues fought against each other and we kissed back and forth for what seemed like forever until we heard someone clear their throat. We pulled away to see Eames standing there. I groaned as my brother simply laughed.

"About time! Hey Dom!" I made it across the room fairly quickly and slapped my brother in the back of the head,

"Shut it Eames. Shouldn't you be with Fischer?" He grinned at us,

"Shouldn't you be down stairs? They've got a code and Fischer's in the back of the truck. He's been asking about you. Wants to know what we've done with you." I rolled my eyes as we went down stairs.

"There you two are! Where were you?" Of course Dom was looking for us.

"Upstairs."

"Oh don't be modest sis. These two were upstairs in a lip lock." I punched Eames in the shoulder who simply laughed. Heck even Dom was smiling. I climbed in the back of the van and pulled my totem put. My totem was unique to the others. Mine was practical. It was a black handled switch blade with a blue dragon on one side and a gold one on the other. In reality the blade was steel; in a dream the blade was crystal, almost glass like, with a red dragon on the handle instead. The handle had a red dragon on it and when the blade flicked out it was crystal. I sighed, so this was still a dream. That kiss was good, but I wanted to kiss him in reality.

We loaded up and hooked up to the machine. My eyes slowly began to fall and I fell into the next dream. Arthur's dream.


	6. The Trouble With Hotels

I was standing beside Cobb in a nice looking hotel. I looked at what I had on. A dark blue shirt with a black coat with black pants to match. I was also sporting black heels. My hair was left down in wavy curls. I looked at Dom who smiled at me. We began our little walk to the bar. Cobb was going to pull a Mr. Charles. And draw Fischer's attention to the dream.

"So why did Fischer ask if you were okay?"

"He still thinks I'm his head of security." He nodded then grinned at me,

"Is it true?"

"What?"

"What Eames said about you and Arthur being upstairs in a lip lock?" He laughed and I smacked him on the arm, "Well is it?"

"Maybe…"

"Sher…"

"Ok, fine…yes! It is. There I've said it. Happy?" He beamed,

"Yes. It's about time too. I thought Arthur was going to go bananas when you showed up again." I rolled my eyes at him,

"Shut up Dom." He grinned but then we went into serious mode when we entered the bar. The woman beside Fischer stood up when she saw us and gave him her number and left,

"Funny how she acts interested when she stole your wallet." Cobb took a drink as Fischer went looking for his wallet. He let out a huff.

"I'm on it sir. Mr. Fischer, this my friend and I highly suggest you listen to what he has to say." And with that I went after the woman. I was right behind her and met her in the elevator with Saito. I leaned against the door of the elevator when it shut and watch my brother pull a joke on Saito. Once Saito realized who it was he scoffed.

"Eames you make one ugly girl." He rolled his eyes,

"Thanks sis. Love you too." I grinned at him.

"Make sure to loose that on your way to the room." Once the elevator stopped I hopped off,

"This is my stop boys." I got off and made my way down the hall to the room that Arthur and I were going to put the charges in. I opened the door and had a gun pointed in my face.

"You pull that trigger and I will kick your butt." Arthur smirked at me and lowered the gun,

"Don't sneak up on me like that." I rolled my eyes. Ariadne was in a suit jacket and pencil skirt with a bun. I took a few charges from Arthur and hopped onto the dresser and attached them to the ceiling. I hopped down off of the dresser and pulled my gun out of the small of my back and loaded it.

"Those projections will be on to us." We moved out into the hall way and Arthur was right behind me,

"I'll have my work cut out for me." We made it to the elevator and rode it up and cautiously made our way out and to the room. We went around the corner to see Fischer and Cobb.

"It's okay. They're my team." He seemed to relax once he saw me with them. Arthur and Dom kicked the door down and went in to "clear" the area. They checked the room and Arthur got the machine out of the closet. Cobb explained to him that they were trying to put him under to find out the combination. We heard the door click and all three of us pointed our guns at it. Browning walked in but I assumed it was Eames. Yet I was wrong when Saito and Eames brought the Browning projection to his knees. Fischer looked hurt. I was happy however. Even if it was a projection of Browning I still hated him. Eames twisted his arm a little harder and Browning winced. I smiled at Eames. He winked at me.

We hooked everyone up and I pulled Arthur to me and pressed my lips to his one more time before pulling away and smiling at him,

"Be careful."

"Me? Darling I'm always careful." He smirked at me and I went under.


	7. To never return

It was cold and I was freezing,

"Bloody hell Eames you know I hate the cold!" He laughed,

"Well too bad love." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Saito, Sherri, and Fischer will make their way to the hospital. Eames you will draw their fire. Ariadne and I will provide cover fire for if there are any stragglers." I nodded and headed off with Fischer and Saito. We were skiing down a large slope and once we came to the edge.

"What do we do now?" I pulled some rope out of Saito's bag and threw it to Fischer,

"We go down it." I strapped Fischer in and then Saito. I hooked myself up and we began our climb down the side of the cliff. We kept going and made it half way down when I heard something.

It was faint but then it began to grow…music.

"No…" I used my com link add got in contact with Cobb,

"Cobb, is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah it's music."

"Listen I'm going to try and find a short cut for you guys." I kept repelling down the mountain until Cobb called again.

"Listen, you're going to have to cut the rope. We're running out of time fast. There's a drain system on the side of the building. You'll have to blow the grill up, but it will be quicker."

"Alright. Sherri out. Oi! Brace yourselves!" I cut the rope and we began a free fall. I felt the wind rush through my hair and for a moment I forgot all the trouble around me. But only a minute because the next thing I knew I hit the snow and began to tumble down the hill. I was the first to recover and checked with Saito and Fischer and we began our rush to get to the drain.

After about ten minutes of tracking through the snow we finally came to the hospital.

"Hold up here. I'll go check to make sure it's clear." I pulled my gun out and made my way to the drain, "It's all clear!" Saito and Fischer came around the corner and I pulled the charges out of Fischer's bag. I set the charges and we hid around the corner while I blew a hole into in. Fiscer went in first then me and then Saito. We made our way up the stair case and had to stop every now and then because Saito was getting weaker and coughing up more blood.

Finally though we reached the top. I sat Saito against a wall while Fischer got a look around. I began to make my way to Fischer when Mal dropped from the ceiling on a rope. She pulled a gun out just as Fischer began to turn around. No way was I going to let him die. I lost my job because he chose to save his reputation; I wasn't going to let him die. I ran towards them and I made it in front of him just Mal fired the gun. I felt the bullet pierce my skin and then my heart. I began to fall. I felt the world spin and everything seemed to fade. I didn't even feel it when I hit the ground. I didn't even hear Fischer call my name. All I could think about was Eames, and Dom, and Arthur. Dear God help them. Slowly I felt the life leave me until I fell into a sleep of nothingness. And the darkness overtook me dropping me into a limbo like state.

One that I would never be able to return from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Cobb pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dear God…" Sherri… I can't believe… why… why would she do that?

"What happened… Cobb, what happened?" I pulled back and fell to the ground. I didn't even feel the tears that had swelled into my eyes.

"We have to hurry," I got up and pulled Ariadne with me, "Eames, Eames!"

"Yes?" How could I tell him? Sherri always felt like a sister to me, but she was actually Eames' sister.

"You have to get in there…Sherri's been shot." I didn't hear anything on the line and I felt a lump grow in my throat,

"I'm on my way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Eames pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was running to get to the top of the stairs. I couldn't believe what Cobb had said. She couldn't… she couldn't die on me. I ran and pushed myself further and further up the stairs until I reached the top. I ran into the room and found Fisher holding Sherri. I ran to the side wall and pulled out the defibrillator. I ran back to them and leaned down beside her. I tried to use them on her. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing. I kept trying until I felt a hand on my shoulder,

"Eames…"

"She can't be dead Cobb… She can't. Not when I just found her. I won't loose her again." I kept trying until Cobb pulled them out of my hands. I leaned my head down to hers and cried. I couldn't help it. I looked at her lifeless form and pushed a strand of hair out of her face,

"Why don't we go into limbo? Get her back. Revive her on the kick." I looked to Cobb,

"Can it be done?"

"It just might work. But Eames you'll need to set the charges and then revive her. Fischer when he comes back you'll have to open that safe." I nodded and hooked Cobb and Ariadne up.

"I'll get her back. I promise Eames. I will get her back." I nodded and sent them under.

"Please bring her back…"


	8. It's time to come back, to let go

I opened my eyes and looked around me. It was quiet and peaceful and I was on that deck at the beach a week before I left. It was dark out and the stars were shinning brightly. The warm air hit my face and the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the dock filled my ears. I was alone in the hammock staring at the stars and watching as every now and then a shooting star would fly by.

I simply lied there day after day and watched the stars. The sun never rose and the moon never fell. I never aged and I never hungered. I would watch the stars and night after night I would hear the sound of music playing and the smell of the ocean.

But I was utterly alone. No one was here but me. I longed to see people again. My heart ached to see Dom, Eames, Ariadne, and Arthur. Especially Arthur. I missed his touch, his smell, the look in his eyes. I missed my brother as well. I had only just found him again after all these years and now… I'm alone. All because I decide to save the man who made my life hell…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arthur pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up under water and took a huge breath out of the tank of air we brought. I gave it to Ariadne and then I looked at Cobb and noticed he was still asleep. I tried to wake him but it didn't work. I looked at Saito who was also still out. But then my eyes widened when I saw that Sherri was also not awake yet. I began to yank on her seat belt and my lungs began to burn. I felt Yusuf pull me back away from the sinking car.

"No!" He pulled me to the surface and I let out a gasp for breath. I went to dive back in but Yusuf pulled me back. I turned to Ariadne,

"What happened?" I felt my eyes sting with tears and water. She looked at the ground then back to me.

"She… she fell into limbo. Cobb went after her and Saito. Tears were starting to stream down my cheeks.

"Oh God….why…why!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dom pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had already encountered Saito and made him go back to reality. Now I had to get Sherri. She wouldn't be so easy to get away. I walked down the pier and took in my surroundings. I had been walking for hours and it was still night. I also noticed that it was all beach. Nothing else but sand and waves and in the distance a little shack that I knew all too well. It was where Mal, Arthur, Sherri, and I stayed when we went our trip to the beach in France. Eames couldn't come because he had business to attend to so Sherri roomed with Arthur.

Mal and I knew that they had a crush on each other but neither would tell the other. So we kept leaving the two of them alone and Mal actually suggested that they room together. Each day we would leave them alone and in the end they ended up going off by themselves. At first not much was happening. But then they began to sit closer to each other. Then they started to hold hands when walking. They would lie in the hammock on the pouch at night together and look at the stars.

So naturally this would be her limbo. The place where she would be in. I finally approached the house and walked up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sherri pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I heard the sound of steps on the wood deck and didn't even bother tearing my eyes away from the stars until I saw the face that was illuminated by the candles.

"Dom…" I scooted over and he lied down on the hammock beside me. I rested my head on his chest and his arm was wrapped around my shoulders.

"Oh Sherri…" It was quiet between us for the longest time. We simply sat in silence and I had a new sound to listen to… the sound of a heart beating. Something that I hadn't heard for a long time. "You have to come back…" His voice was but a whisper, "This isn't where you belong. You have to come back…"

"Dom… I don't know if I can… What if… what if I loose you guys again…I can't take that pain. Not again." Our voices were soft and whispers wee all that escaped our lips.

"You can never know what's going to happen, but running won't help. Sherri, think about how Eames and Arthur will feel? You're his sister Sher. Eames will be heartbroken to loose his sister again. And Arthur… the man is madly in love with you. He would fight all of hell to get you back. Sherri… I need you to come back. I need someone to share my grief with as well… Sherri, Mal's gone. I had to let her go. After all this time I had to finally let her go. Sherri… you need to let go. Come back…come back…" I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.


	9. A very good way to be lost

~~~~~~~~~Eames pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anxiety coursed through me as I waited for Cobb and Sherri to wake up. It was hard to put on a cool exterior when I was far from calm. It was even harder for Arthur, the always calm and collected man, who was trying everything he could to stay calm, cool, and collected.

My heart was pounding and my mind was racing. She had to wake up. She had to come back. I looked to my left and my eyes widened when I saw Saito awake. Arthur and the others noticed this and a spark of hope leapt into my chest,

"Come on love…" It was quieter than a whisper but it was my silent plea for my sister to come back to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arthur pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I opened my eyes to find myself back on the plane. I watched Sherri carefully. Saito was brought back so Sherri could be brought back to. Please… Come on Cobb.

I don't know what I'd do with out her. I just got the courage to tell her that I love her. I couldn't loose her. I lost her once I wasn't loosing her again. I needed her. More than I needed anything else in the world.

"Please…come back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dom pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sherri was like my sister. I needed someone who felt the pain that I did. Someone who knew my loss. I needed my friend back. I wasn't going to loose her here. Eames needed her. Arthur needed her. I needed her.

"Sherri… you need to let go. Come back…come back…" She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. I kissed her forehead and shut my eyes as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Sherri pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I heard the sounds around me. People bustling about, the sounds of voices, the opening and closing of the overhead cabinets. I was back. I opened my eyes and saw relief flood over the worried faces of my friends. I looked over at Dom who smiled at me. Eames and Arthur looked like they were going to cry.

But we weren't safe yet. We still had to get off the plane. I stood up and grabbed my bag from up above.

"Sherri…" My heart froze. I turned around,

"Yes Robert?" He looked like he wanted to ask me something and he opened his mouth to say something but shut it again. He let out a sigh,

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. I'm sorry for what happened." I smiled at him,

"It's alright Robert. And I'm sorry about your father. Whether you choose to believe it or not, know that your father loved you." He gave me a sad yet also understanding smile,

"I know…" And with that I made my way off of the plane. We went to baggage claim and I clutched Arthur's hand as I watched Dom give his passport to the man at the desk. He flipped through it and Dom kept casting us nervous glances. He got to the last page and stamped it before handing it back to Dom.

"Welcome back to the country Mr. Cobb." Those words couldn't have sounded any better. I let out a breath I had been holding. Saito lived up to his end of the bargain. Cobb smiled at us and came over to baggage claim and picked up hi bag. He looked at each one of us and I winked at him,

"Be good to yourself Dom." He nodded and made his way over to his father-in-law. I grabbed my bags and Eames and Arthur and I said goodbye to Ariadne, Yusuf, and Saito. When we got outside. Eames wrapped me in a hug and swung me around.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" I laughed as he put me down and then I turned to Arthur who immediately pressed his lips to mine. It felt so good to finally kiss him in reality. His lips danced over mine and they didn't leave any time soon until my brother cut in.

"Oi! I'm still here and I'm still your brother. So…" We laughed and Arthur pulled away. Eames was grinning though, "But I'm glad that it's you Arthur." He smiled and Eames took his arm.

We went to a small bar and simply relaxed in the back. It was calm and we were just taking in the surroundings around us. I sat between my brother and Arthur and just soaked in the feeling of having my family back. Eames phone rang and he picked it up and sighed. He hung up and looked at us,

"I'm afraid that I have to dash. Something's come up and I've got to go meet a friend in New York. Can I trust you two to behave until I come back?" I laughed,

"Of course Eames." He kissed my head,

"Be good darling. Arthur." He gripped his arm,

"See you later Eames." He nodded and walked out. I looked at Arthur and wrapped my arms around his torso,

"So what now?" He put his arm around me and smiled at me.

"I don't know. I haven't gotten that far." I smiled at him,

"Well good thing I have." He raised an eye brow at me and simply took his hand and made my way down the street. We walked into a hotel and booked a room. We got on the elevator and made our way up the floors. Arthur's hands rested on my waist. His lips were close to mine and his voice was low,

"What was it like?" I pressed my lips to his,

"I was on a beach," He pressed his lips to mine again, "That week we spent in France." His lips danced over mine again and each kiss became a hungry one. Wanting more.

"That was the best time of my life. Because I was with you." He pressed his hungry lips back to mine. The elevator chimed and opened and we pulled away long enough to get to the door. His hands rested on my hips and his breath was on my neck as I opened the door. Once the door was open and shut I found my back pressed to it.

His lips danced feverishly over mine and slowly my grip on reality was going. I was loosing myself in this moment. My jacket was slipped off of my shoulders and so was his. My shoes were coming off and then I took my blade out and sat it on the table while he took his tie off and sat his die on the table aw well. We did so without even looking at them. His hands found my waist and pulled me closer to him as we moved towards the other side of the room. When my back found the softness of the mattress underneath me he pulled away a little. We were both breathing heavily. By now there were fewer things separating us from each other and he pushed a strand of hair out of my face,

"I love you Sherri. More than anything." I smiled at him and slowly placed a kiss on his lips.

"I love you too Arthur. I promise I'll never leave again." I leaned up and kissed him again, "Never." He smiled down at me and slowly but passionately kissed me again. My grip on reality was all but lost. The way his lips danced over my skin made it burn where ever they touched. My arms wrapped around his neck and his lips found their way back up to mine and they danced over mine.

My grip on reality was gone and I was lost in his eyes and in his kisses and touch. But to me, this was a very good way to be lost.


End file.
